Dell XPS 15 (9570) Review: Same Beauty, Even More Beast
Dell XPS 15 (9570): Design Language And Software Configuration
The Dell XPS 15 9570 continues using the chassis and design that the XPS 15 9560 and 9550 wore so effectively. The laptop has a premium look, with its silver aluminum and bottom lids surrounding a black interior. The wide palm rest and keyboard deck are covered in black carbon fiber weave, a trendy touch that evokes dashboard panels in multi-million-dollar pleasure boats and super-cars.
Dimensions remain the same; the height is 0.45-0.66 inch, width is 14.06 inches, and depth is 9.27 inches. Weight starts at 4 pounds, with our tested model coming in closer to 4.5 pounds. The system slid easily into a 20L backpack made for 15-inch laptops, with plenty of room to spare.
Unsurprisingly, port placement remains identical to the previous XPS 15 models, with a few spec upgrades. On the left side, you’ll find a power jack, a USB 3.1 (Gen1) connector, an HDMI 2.0 port, a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port, and a headphone jack. On the opposite side, the laptop has an SD card slot, a second USB 3.1 (Gen1) port, the battery charge indicator, and a Noble lock port.
Dell’s InfinityEdge display measures 15.6-inches and has relatively tiny 5.7mm bezels around the top, left, and right of the screen. This means that like the XPS 13, the webcam is situated below the screen. This saves bezel space on the top, but also means the camera annoyingly looks up at your chin instead of capturing a head-on view. It’s inconvenient if you have frequent video conferences, trading bad camera angles for pretty aesthetics in the bezels.
Buyers have a choice between a 1080p HD panel with 100% sRGB color gamut or the 4K (2160p) panel we see here with a 100% Adobe RGB color gamut. sRGB is the common color space for the web, so either is a good choice for web developers, but Adobe RGB’s wider color space is a better choice for proofing photographic prints, for example.
The screen and bezels are covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 4 with an anti-glare treatment. Like on the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1, both screens are rated at 400 nits, and can easily be seen in a sunlight-filled room. 10-point touch is optional and worked well on our test unit.
Dell does include a few of its own utilities, stuff we have seen before on its previous model laptops and 2-in-1 devices. Notably, the company's SupportAssist software provides a handy command center of sorts for support services and diagnostics. For example, you can initiate a Hardware Checkup to ensure that the system is firing on all cylinders like it should be. You can also glance at your system specs, check for and download updated drivers, and optimize settings.
You also have access to Killer's control center, which ties into the system's Killer Wireless 1435 Wi-Fi adapter. Probably the neatest thing about this utility is its Wi-Fi analyzer. This provides an overview of the various SSIDs available and the signal strength of each one on various channels. If you often have trouble with wireless performance due to crowded networks, this can help you overcome that, provided you're comfortable poking around your router's settings and making some manual changes.
Unsurprisingly, port placement remains identical to the previous XPS 15 models, with a few spec upgrades. On the left side, you’ll find a power jack, a USB 3.1 (Gen1) connector, an HDMI 2.0 port, a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port, and a headphone jack. On the opposite side, the laptop has an SD card slot, a second USB 3.1 (Gen1) port, the battery charge indicator, and a Noble lock port.
Buyers have a choice between a 1080p HD panel with 100% sRGB color gamut or the 4K (2160p) panel we see here with a 100% Adobe RGB color gamut. sRGB is the common color space for the web, so either is a good choice for web developers, but Adobe RGB’s wider color space is a better choice for proofing photographic prints, for example.
The screen and bezels are covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 4 with an anti-glare treatment. Like on the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1, both screens are rated at 400 nits, and can easily be seen in a sunlight-filled room. 10-point touch is optional and worked well on our test unit.
Dell XPS 15 Software Setup
Our test system shipped with Windows 10 Home 64-bit and a quite a bit of pre-loaded software. They ranged from the truly useful packages like the Dell Power Manager for battery health monitoring, the Killer Control Center network utility, and a pre-loaded copy of the Netflix app. However, the Start menu is loaded down with lots of other extras like Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, and Minecraft, so be sure to budget some time to declutter your system if you plan to use it for work.
Dell does include a few of its own utilities, stuff we have seen before on its previous model laptops and 2-in-1 devices. Notably, the company's SupportAssist software provides a handy command center of sorts for support services and diagnostics. For example, you can initiate a Hardware Checkup to ensure that the system is firing on all cylinders like it should be. You can also glance at your system specs, check for and download updated drivers, and optimize settings.
You also have access to Killer's control center, which ties into the system's Killer Wireless 1435 Wi-Fi adapter. Probably the neatest thing about this utility is its Wi-Fi analyzer. This provides an overview of the various SSIDs available and the signal strength of each one on various channels. If you often have trouble with wireless performance due to crowded networks, this can help you overcome that, provided you're comfortable poking around your router's settings and making some manual changes.
